


december 1st: no special treatment

by watergator



Series: december fic advent 2020 [1]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, non youtuber au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:21:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27822178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watergator/pseuds/watergator
Summary: prompt: burgersdan hates his job, he hates conventions, and he hates food that tastes like rubber. but maybe there's one good thing to come from it all
Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Series: december fic advent 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2035978
Comments: 9
Kudos: 69





	december 1st: no special treatment

Convention food is awful, Dan decides. The veggie burger he’s chewing on is already leaving a stale taste in his mouth, and as he swallows it down with a grimace, he wonders if  _ this  _ was worth giving up meat potentially forever.

He tries to imagine it’s something from the little family owned vegan restaurant that’s beneath his apartment block, and not just some shitty pop-up cafe that he’s mulling around because there’s a gnawing at his stomach that comes from more than just hunger.

He fucking  _ hates  _ conventions.

There’s a group of people that pass him, laughing and smiling and having a generally good time like they were being photographed for some glossy textbook cover with the word: FUN printed across it. So fucking  _ cheesy _ , he thinks as he watches them go, still chewing on the same mouthful of his rubbery, shit-tasting burger.

He hates conventions, he hates people and he really, honestly hates what he’s eating. So he gets up from where he’s sitting, wipes his hands on the thighs of his jeans and tosses half his burger into the bin as he starts to walk away, letting it fall to the bottom with a rather satisfying  _ thud. _

He plays with the lanyard as he walks because he just has to be doing something with his hands, and now that he’s started walking he realises that he’s not actually quite sure where he’s going.

Everyone around him is walking with purpose; a destination in sight, whilst Dan is just floating around the hall, trying to look normal because now he’s feeling anxious about the way that he’s walking, for fucks sake.

He hates conventions yet, here he is. He stops at a merch booth. There’s a young girl behind the table, rocking on the balls of her feet as Dan pretends to be interested in the printed tees that are spread across the table. They’re creased and wonky and Dan just gives her the most pretend smile he can muster before he’s walking away again.

He’s digging at his back tooth with his tongue; a little bit of his burger bun is stuck there when he hears his name being called, causing him to spin on his feet.

“Dan, you finished your lunch break, yeah?”

Tim, a tall, lanky bastard of a man that he works with is looking at him with an air of arrogance and a ridiculous amount of expectancy, shifting his weight from one hip to another, like he’s more than just a stupid fucking office worker that writes articles on internet influences.

Dan’s stomach grumbles on just half a burger but he nods.

“Er, yeah,” he says, face burning as his voice cracks embarrassingly, especially for a man of his age.

Tim must pretend not to notice because he’s  _ that  _ kind of twat, and clasps Dan on the shoulder like they’re buddies and flashes him a grin.

“Brilliant mate, because I need you up on Stage 1B? We’ve got an interview with one of our influencers and I need you to go set up for me.”

He talks to Dan like he’s a literal child and if Dan was braver maybe he’d tell him to fuck off before he’d find a toilet to go cry in.

But Dan isn’t brave and he needs his job, and he’ll just cry in his room tonight, alone. 

He whips out another brilliantly fake smile and nods. 

“Sure,” he smiles. “No problem.”

Tim slaps his shoulder again and walks away with a chuckle, Dan watching him with a scowl.

“Fucking twat,” he scoffs, as he turns and makes his way to wherever the fuck Stage 1B is.

*

He has to ask some old lady for directions, only to be humiliated further when she gives him one of those grandmother-ly smiles and tells him,   
  
“The event hasn’t started yet, dear,” and Dan has to politely inform her through slightly gritted teeth than he’s not here to come listen to a stupid YouTuber panel, but he actually here on work, believe it or not.   
  
So when he gets to the stage he’s still fuming, his stomach is empty and there’s  _ still  _ a bit of burger in the back of his teeth. He’s grumbling and mumbling to himself as he starts setting out the stacks of chairs, acting like a crazy person when he hears a small yelp that has him snapping his head up so fast, he’s surprised he doesn’t give himself whiplash.   
  
There’s a man standing by the door, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. The first thing Dan notices is that he has a huge bag of crisps clutched to his chest, one hand frozen in the act of taking a handful.   
  
The second thing Dan notices is that he’s like… proper good looking.   
  
‘I, um, I didn’t realise anybody would be in here,” the man calls over to him. 

Thirdly, he has a ridiculously stupid, yet endearing accent.  
  
Dan plonks the next stack of chairs down, echoing around the room, making the other guy jump a little.   
  
“Well, there’s some kind of panel happening in like…” he pauses. He’s not actually sure Tim told him. Stupid, fucking, moron, Tim.   
  
The other guy shuffles forward, looking kind of weird and anxious, taking his hand out of the bag.   
  
“Fifteen minutes,” he tells him, and Dan just nods, uninterested.   
  
“I’m not sure what the rules say about sneaking in beforehand,” Dan tells him, kicking the leg of a nearby chair to edge in back an inch. “But I really don’t care.”   
  
The guy nods in understanding, looking a bit relieved if anything.

Dan looks at the stage where the table and chair is all set up, then back at the guy.    
  
“You big into all of this then?” He asks with a rather jerky grin and the guy shrinks a little in his posture.   
  
“Guess so,” he shrugs. “Do you work here?”   
  
Dan scoffs a laugh. “No,” he shakes his head. “I just really fucking love lumbering fifty million chairs across halls.”   
  
The guy blinks, his cheeks going a bit pink and Dan just laughs again.   
  
“Sorry,” he shakes his head, still grinning. “I’m Dan, and I’m usually a dickhead to everyone,” he tells him. “No special treatment I’m afraid.”   
  
The guy nods slowly. Then, he takes a step forward. “I’m Phil,” he introduces himself. “And I’m usually a bit weird around everyone. Absolutely no special treatment.

Dan snorts and it makes the guy - Phil - laugh a little bit.

“I don’t actually work here,” Dan tells him and Phil’s smile falters a little bit. “But, no, I don’t  _ actually  _ love organising chairs. I work for a magazine company,” he tells him, already becoming bored of his own voice. “It’s shit boring and I’m basically here to just do their dirty work, as you can see.”   
  
Phil looks at the chairs and then back at Dan. “I could help, if you want.”   
  
Dan looks him up and down, his hunched posture and small frame seems almost laughable. But then again, Dan is kind of a dickhead at the worst of times.

He gives him an incredulous laugh and Phil frowns at him.

“No offence mate but why do you wanna help?”

Phil swallows, his sharp Adam’s apple bobs in his long neck.

“I have fifteen minutes to spare,” he shrugs.

With no other argument left, Dan just jerks his head to notion him over, and he scuttles over like a nervous little animal that might just bolt off if he makes any sudden movements.

Phil proves that his noodle arms aren’t as weak as actual noodles and together they get the high stack of chairs unstacked and set up around the room, where Dan follows Phil around and readjusts every chair he plonks down, mainly because he really can’t stand to have them just a teeny tiny bit wonky.

Phil’s fishing his phone out of his pocket whilst Dan takes a seat, looking up at him.

“Are our precious fifteen minutes up?” Dan asks and Phil is too engrossed in his phone when he jerks his head up and looks at Dan, blushing when he realises he’s being spoken to.

“Oh,” he begins to splutter rather helplessly. “Uh, um, yeah, er, listen—“

Dan shakes his head and stands up, his knees giving a gross pop as he stretches his legs out and gives Phil a small smile.

“Don’t worry. I won’t keep you waiting,” he says as he starts to make his way towards the door.

He stops and looks back at Phil. “What sorry, washed up so called influencer are you waiting on anyway?” He asks with a cruel smirk and Phil just blushes even harder.

“Er. Me,” he squeaks and Dan just blinks at him before he bursts out laughing.

“Fuck off.”

Phil shrugs. “Yeah.”

Dan squints his eyes at him and laughs again.

“You?” His voice cracks with another laugh and Phil continues to just stand there, blinking.   
  
“Yes.”   
  
Dan shifts, his eyes flicker up and down his body and his lips curl around a smile.   
  
Phil shifts forward too, crossing his arms rather awkwardly over his chest. “Is there a problem with that?” he asks, trying to sound defensive but Dan see’s straight through him and in all honesty, he thinks it’s a bit endearing.

“Nope,” he shakes his head and then runs his tongue over his bottom lip as he sucks in a breath.   
  
“Just means I can’t ask you out like I was gonna,” he says, nonchalantly with a lazy shrug of his shoulders, and Phil looks a bit stunned.   
  
“W-what?” He stammers as his ears go a nice shade of pink and Dan really has to try to not laugh again.

Dan gives him a coy smile. “It’s just. I had this really shitty burger earlier so like, I’m half starved. And all my co-workers are pricks. So I was gonna see if maybe you were into food that wasn’t disgusting.”   
  
Phil’s lips pull into a smile before he presses them into a thin line to hide his amusement.   
  
“Ah. I see,” he nods and Dan smiles too.   
  
“So. I don’t know much about shitty vegan burgers or anything but like. I dunno. If you want,” Dan says with another shrug and Phil gives him a toothy smile that has his stomach flipping over.   
  
“Sure,” Phil nods and Dan exhales. “No vegan burgers.”   
  
Dan smiles. “Nope.”   


**Author's Note:**

> come say hi on tumblr !! @watergator


End file.
